Can you get a survey on an auction property?

It is important for a potential buyer of a property at auction to carry out due diligence in advance of the auction date, as successful bids are binding and once the gravel falls they are obliged to pay the deposit and complete the purchase. Therefore, when our experienced team here at Mark Jenkinson get the question ‘Can you get a survey on an auction property?’ our answer is yes and we advise you to do so.

In our Buyer's Guide: Preparing to Bid at Online Property Auction we give you all the information you need if you are getting ready to participate in an auction for the first time.

One of the recommendations we give is to arrange viewings of properties you are interested in bidding on. As well as reading the legal pack for any property listed for auction – and asking your solicitor to also read that legal pack – it is advisable to arrange a viewing or at least a survey on a property that you are intending to bid on.

You can contact the auction house – in our case if it’s a Mark Jenkinson auction you’re prepping for contact the relevant local Mark Jenkinson office and arrange viewings for any properties that have caught your eye. You are free to take a surveyor and/or a builder along with you for advice, and if you wish you can also seek the input of a local estate agent to enquire about the value of relevant properties on the open market.

The legal packs prepared by Mark Jenkinson for each property we auction can be downloaded from our website and typically include detailed documents on important elements relating to the property such as utilities bills and agreements, ground searches, drainage and water searches, Local Authority Searches, Insurance Policy Schedules, Planning Determinations, Tenancy Agreements, Freehold/Leasehold documents as well as further legal documents relating to the forthcoming sale and auction.

If you want a specific piece of information about one of our auction properties and cannot find it in the legal documents on the listing of the property on our website feel free to contact our team. We are always available to help. Our expert surveying team have decades of combined experience in the property industry and auction industry. 

Generally when surveyors review a property they provide information such as the following:

• Summary of property type and local facilities
• Energy efficiency rating
• Environmental search (coal, gas and flood risk)
• Opinion on the external and internal elements of property
• Damp test, structural and roof inspection
• Assessment of services and grounds
• Any issues for legal advisors to further examine
• Detail on construction materials and methods
• Suggestions on repair of defects if necessary
• Advice on improving energy efficiency of the property

If our team / legal pack has not already provided you with information you deem necessary - before calculating the maximum bid you would be willing to go to once the property goes to auction - you may wish to get an independent survey done on the respective property or properties.

Some surveyors can include a market valuation on a property and this can be useful to compare with the guide price for the property at auction.